Investing In Employees
As each camper scaled his or her way to the top of the high ropes course, the instructor yelled “ZIP,” the command to exit the course via the zipline. The shutter of my camera snapped as each participant tether whizzed past me, propelled by the gravity of their weight pulling the cable.
Combatting The Trauma Of These Times
A few years ago, camping psychologist Bob Ditter and I co-facilitated several conference workshops. Bob would share a critical element in the health-and-wellness realm of camp staff members, and I would share an activity that explored that topic.
Appreciative Staff Training
Many campers credit a lifelong friendship that began with a new friend at camp. The strongest bonds can develop while spending lots of time together negotiating the challenges of communal living with a dozen new people, overcoming homesickness, or even feeling the support from another camper during a first horseback-riding lesson.
Mental Preparation
If the past two summers have taught us anything, it’s the need for flexible and attentive plans. The COVID-19 pandemic has opened our eyes to many different societal and existential failures across the country and the world, but it also has allowed for a stronger emphasis on health and safety protocols that many businesses, schools, and camps may not have focused on previously.
Memory Makers
What is the magic of camp? What makes a camp different from another camp? So many camp directors approach this question by saying … traditions. True, traditions are created and
The Power Of Positive Thinking
Many of us frequently use the phrase, “Can’t see the forest for the trees.” The simplest interpretation is that we become so fixated on the small things we lose sight of the large.
Talking Points
This past year has been challenging, unexpected, and explosive in many ways. During the pandemic, the United States experienced a global-health crisis while still reckoning with racial, social, and political unrest, social isolation, and anxieties that will remain for decades.
First-Year Camp Staff Survival
Being a camp staff member is rewarding, but it’s also tough; there are early mornings, late nights, extreme weather, camper crises, and daily challenges that will test staff members to their limits. From socks to soap, from songs to sleep, here are 25 tips drawn from years of camp staff and youth program experience to keep first-time staffers going strong this summer and beyond.
Bridging The Gap
Generation Y has come to be known by several different titles: The Internet Generation, Echo-Boomers, The Boomlet, Nexters, and most commonly, Millennials.
Courageous Ignorance
If you’ve seen my photo or met me at a conference, you might wonder what gives me—a white male—the qualifications or street cred to write about prejudice and diversity. And some would consider that racism.
Get Your Game Face On
“Good afternoon, everyone! On my cue, your camp supervisors are going to start wrapping each other in toilet paper for 10 points and control of the game. On your mark, get set, go!”
Where Have All The Camp Staff Gone?
In recent months, I find myself humming the modern folk song, “Where have all the flowers gone?”, written by Pete Seeger (although in my opinion—best sung by the Kingston Trio). This melancholy tune has been a
Short and Sweet
Distracted. Impatient. Overwhelmed. Unfortunately, this is how today’s learner is often described (thank you, multi-tasking, and not at all what I am doing while writing this)! Not only is this the case in school and
Part 2--Growing From The Inside
Successful internal leadership development (ILD) programs are those which clearly define what leadership is and how leaders mature. Having reviewed the philosophy and proposed a
Three-Step Program
Hiring a staff to run the camp during the summer is the most time-consuming and important thing a camp director can do each year. How to get started? My suggestion is to make a plan!
KOOL Staff Orientation
Quick Reference… Some great ideas explained in this article: • Create staff orientation classes called Camp Counseling 101 and 202 • Focus on what you absolutely want staff to know by the end of the session
Staff Recruitment - Beyond the Resume
If you've never hired someone who didn't work out, or never had vacancies when summer started, then don't bother reading this. Still reading? Then you already know that finding enough staff, and more
To Conquer Staff-Training Boredom
In the summer of 2016, the Day Camp Superhero Training Academy faced its biggest nemesis—Summer Boredom. As the recruits arrived for training, surveillance footage revealed the
No Manual For Industry Secrets
Camp work should come with a warning label. There are just some industry secrets that never seem to be covered in staff training. From solemn and serious to wild and wacky, here are 88